Alright, for those of you who haven't heard of it, this therapy consists of being inoculated with worms- yes, worms- I know it seems gross, but I was curious about it. I'd heard about it a while ago from someone with MG considering it, but didn't really look into it.

Then, I came across an article on the very low incidence of MG in people living in Northern Nigeria. One of the theories behind this is that people who live in the Tropics generally do not develop autoimmunity, especially at the rates seen in other climates, because they are exposed to parasites which is believed to prevent autoimmunity for some reason.

Anyway, just thought I'd post this for anyone who might be interested in this angle.

Many people who have gastrointestinal autoimmunity issues (Crohn's, Celiac's, IBD) have had a lot of success with it. I don't think it's been tried out on anyone with MG, but it's still kinda interesting in the sense that it provides a different possible cause behind these immune diseases. Instead of infections somehow causing the problem, it's a lack of infection, or an immune system that's not properly 'exercised' that results in illness. It's sorta like the idea that 'overcleanliness' results in allergies and all that.

http://ajol.info/index.php/aam/artic...ile/8260/13961
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy

The only thing is, and I'll share this 'cause it's relevent, albeit kinda embarassing (maybe?), I'm pretty sure I got worms at one point when I was little. So I don't know how that fits in. Hey, is it common to get worms when you're little in the West?

Hey. I think this is kind of like probiotic therapy which seems to be popular now. People seem to lose the bacteria they need for normal gastro function. Taking the probiotics, putting back the bacteria we need, makes you feel much better. I just started taking probiotics for gastro problems. I have seen a noticable difference in four days. We'll see what happens after a few weeks. You always find the interesting stuff!

I gotta to admit, I find it pretty interesting too...It's funny that you mention the probiotics...I'm not taking those right now (I find that they go bad quickly), but I do eat a lot of plain yoghurt. I don't know how common thrush is while on prednisone, but I haven't developed it *yet* (knocks on something that looks like wood). I haven't had any other issues with too much yeast in any other depots. as of yet either (but again, not sure how common these overgrowths are when on prednisone). I used to have plenty of problems with yeast in the past, though.

I'm planning on making my own yoghurt from now on because this ensures more 'good' bacteria.

But back to the worms/parasites...I'm sorta still wondering about the whole thing...My BF is from Afghanistan, and he also lived in India for 10-years. He told me that everyone got worms when they were little, and he's had Malaria 3-times while he lived in India. Anyway, he gets a lot of fungal infections- athlete's foot, on his feet, scalp and other areas. He also has plenty of allergies too...I'm sure that it's more complicated than it seems, but kinda curious that he'd suffer from allergies/fungal infections despite these past parasitic infections that are supposed to sorta 'train' the immune system. On the other hand, allergies, autoimmunity and maybe a weak immune system aren't necessarily interchangeable, but I did see something mentioned about parasitic infection preventing allergies as well...

It's interesting, though, still...
Nicky

Hey great post! Ever since my son returned from Iraq he has had major intestinal issues, also my best friends daughter has Crohns. I will look into this tomorrow after I have rested some.

Thanks for posting it.